Using productivity tools and apps can increase your focus and speed up delivery. From CEOs to start-ups, these services will help you get more from your working week and give you an edge over competitors. Thanks to Rob Hope (@hitdelete) for helping me put this list together.

1. Momentum (Browser)

Scientifically proven: Multi-tasking drops your IQ.

Keeping focus on one important task not only helps boost your brain’s cognitive performance, it’s also better for your health. Momentum is a free Chrome plug-in that replaces the ‘new tab’ page with a personal dashboard designed to help your focus on a single daily task. Momentum eliminates distraction and provides inspiration, focus, and productivity.

2. Boomerang (Browser, Outlook)

An average employee spends 28% of their working week checking e-mail.

An business inbox receives over 100 e-mails a day – a number that is growing 15% p.a. Boomerang is a free Gmail or Outlook plugin that adds a suite of productivity tools like reminders, follow-up emails, recurring e-mails, delay sending and read receipts to your e-mails. Its simple interface ensures you’re following up on important sales leads, or that colleagues stay informed on projects, and helps get you on top of your Inbox. It’s a very handy tool for a busy executive.

3. TripMode (Mac)

TripMode is your best friend when working while traveling on a fickle connection.

It allows you to block certain apps that are consuming your precious mobile data and allocate that data to the right areas. Allowing you to be more productive while saving you money. The UI is simple to use and it conveniently disables when back on a wifi connection.

4. Noizio (Mac, iPhone)

Noizio replaces your current background noise with sounds of a gorgeous natural surrounding.

The UI is beautiful and you can easily set the volume levels of natural ambient sounds. Within no time you find yourself productivity writing your next blog post to the sound of light October rain and a subtle crackling camp fire.

5. TeuxDeux (Browser)

TeuxDeux is a to-do-list app with a simple slick UI in a unique column view.

To-do-list apps are generally subjective but TeuxDeux is more for someone who likes to see their weekly tasks in one view. You can also easily ‘drag’ a task between days which is really useful. Other features include recurring tasks, colour schemes and an interesting stats section to monitor your productivity.

6. Elevate App (iPhone, Android)

Putting the dubious claims of brain training technology aside, Elevate seems to really work. A free version of the app sets three challenges daily that adjusts over time based on your performance. Used as a daily cognitive ‘pick-me-up’ through some challenging ‘neurobics’.

8. Rescue Time (Mac, Windows)

RescueTime silently monitors where you spend your time behind the screen.

At the end of each week the app reports back with a breakdown of your usage in productive and unproductive categories. It’s honestly fascinating and no doubt subconsciously makes you more productive the more you use it. What’s great to know is that you can tweak what apps and websites are productive or not – creating a more accurate, personalised analysis for your niche industry.

9. Readline (Browser)

Highlight any text online and set Readline to show the content word-by-word. Set your speed reading level from 10 to 1,000 words per minute and you’ll comfortably be getting through memos at three times the speed.

Bonus 11. Soulver (Mac, iPhone, iPad)

Soulver is the human way of making quick business calculations.

Soulver is a calculator that works in the same way as you’d write problems down on paper. You see your answer instantly without setting up formulas or getting the calculator out, and it’s currency support is invaluable. It’s a fantastic tool for those doing business across borders.

]]>The annual CGA Consumer Insights and Marketing Conference was held on Wednesday, 18th March. Here are 5 key thoughts from the conference on and around the UK eating and drinking out market.

1. Innovation

“Brand’s live in a world of oversupply … great brands orientate themselves around the customer, not the technology. Brands simplify choices … because customers are suffering with Stuffocation.”— Fraser Bradshaw (saintnicks)

Facts about Innovation:

Innovation is not about technology. Technology should always be a facilitator. It’s always about the experiences of the consumer.

Innovation is the process of creating something new that makes consumer’s life better.

Innovation is impossible without passion. Great stories happen to those who can tell them.

Innovation is about setting correct goals and fresh thinking.

Innovators see the world differently. Think broader than your own category.

How to be more Innovative:

Define your offering. What are you fighting against?

Set the correct goals.

Commit to a plan on fresh thinking.

Develop new partnerships and alliances

Thinking broader than your own category

Align your brand with social trends

Talk yourself interesting – create stories

Grow your social and cult capital

Get a metrics expert

Be discipled and have a roadmap.

2. Loyalty

“Intention to visit + the likelihood to recommend = we can begin to understand behavioural loyalty.”— Jamie Campbell (CGA Peach)

]]>http://brandempire.com/marketing/5-thoughts-on-consumer-insights-and-marketing/feed/0A Day in Berlin…http://brandempire.com/travel/a-day-in-berlin/
http://brandempire.com/travel/a-day-in-berlin/#commentsTue, 17 Mar 2015 09:32:27 +0000http://brandempire.com/?p=719We visited Berlin for a day seeing all the sights and sounds of the capital. I took a GoPro along for the ride.

]]>http://brandempire.com/travel/a-day-in-berlin/feed/1Best Travel Startups 2015http://brandempire.com/travel/best-travel-startups-2015/
http://brandempire.com/travel/best-travel-startups-2015/#commentsWed, 04 Mar 2015 00:55:50 +0000http://brandempire.com/?p=668Looking for the hottest new travel startups? This roundup shows 10 of the best companies that are doing great things in the 'traveltech' space.

With so many travel startups gaining traction it can be difficult to keep up with all the new products in beta or early release. For me there are a few standout products worth noting this year. Some of my favourite new travel startups are disruptive, some create a digital marketplace and others find value in under-utilised sources. All of them deserve your attention.

1. Must

No one sees the world like you do…

Must is a free lifestyle photo recommendation app. It’s aim is to get users discovering, capturing, and sharing new experiences across the world. By categorising the coolest and most memorable experiences (see, eat, stay, do, drink and have) the app will create your ‘absolute musts’ to satisfy wanderlust. Launches this month.

2. AnyRoad

Quietly disrupting the offline world of professional tour guides with technology.

AnyRoad is to tour companies, what Airbnb is to hotels. It’s model brings technology to the remotest parts of the world, and brings unique bookable tours directly from independent guides. This point-to-point booking experience really works well and the sheer number of tours speaks volumes for its continual growth. High five to AnyRoad for also donating 5% of their revenue to non-profits.

3. Carry

The sharing economy turns the courier industry to ‘peer-to-peer’.

Carry turns unused space in your carry on luggage into potential income. Carry’s marketplace connects people who want to ship something with travelers who can carry the packages for them for a fee, at a noticeably reduced shipping cost. Security concerns aside (which Carry seem to have addressed at length), this is one of the smartest travel startups I’ve seen this year.

4. Yonderbound

The first ‘travel knowledge monetization platform’ paying commissions to reviewers

Yonderbound serves up an inventory of 380,000 bookable properties, but unlike other OTAs they share 70% of profit with anyone who creates review content (called a Yonderbox) on their platform. Net revenue is calculated by subtracting from a gross sale price (what you or your friends paid) the credit card fees, the processing fees (payment gateway, merchant bank and middleware) and the net rate Yonderbound paid for the property. Pretty interesting model and certainly a hot travel startup for this year.

5. Hotels By Day

Yes, ‘Daycation’ is now a word.

Hotels by Day are trying to create a new category of hotel booking. Imagine you need to unwind and relax during a work trip but do not need an over night stay – just book the day and check-out before 7pm. Starting with a very modest US based inventory, the company is well funded and has pretty ambitious plans to get more hotels involved. It will be interesting to see how the market could potentially be educated that this type of service exists, and how channel / property management systems all over the world handle a ‘day cations’ as a model.

6. Party with a Local

Established for a few years, but a really great travel startup…

This app had me at ‘hello’. Do you want to party with fun people when you’re travelling? Yes, so do I. Party with a Local is a geosocial networking application and social discovery platform for the iPhone. Using physical proximity, users can join in locals’ parties, events and meet new people. Works very well for more socially inclined millennial customers travelling through ‘party’ cities. Go download the app while I smash this Jägermeister.

7. Wanderlust.ly

Intelligent travel budgeting to booking…

Deadly simple concept here. Plug in your budget, preferences and interests and Wanderlust compiles a number of packaged trips (flight through to accommodation) to match your criteria. Looking forward to seeing this launch.

8. Hopper

Hopper’s aim is to help consumers make smart travel choices backed by big data and quantitative analysis. Billions of flight data points are analysed to show you when the best time is to book flights and alerts them when their ticket price may go up or down. Absolutely debunks the ‘book early to save’ money on flights myth.

9. LocalFu

On demand travel plans written by locals.

Localfu is a marketplace for personalised suggestions from locals. Whether you’re going on vacation, moving to a new city, or simply looking for new things to do, Localfu connects you with the right people for a $5 fee.

10. Plansify

Real travel advice from travel experts…

Another marketplace for personalised travel advice, but at a much higher level. Plansify offers connections to genuine travel experts who can help planning volunteering in South Africa to living as an Expat in Berlin. Communication is done through their platform or via a 1hr Skype call.

]]>http://brandempire.com/travel/best-travel-startups-2015/feed/2The 10 Best New Free Tools for Start-ups and Small Businesshttp://brandempire.com/business/the-10-best-new-free-tools-for-start-ups-and-small-business/
http://brandempire.com/business/the-10-best-new-free-tools-for-start-ups-and-small-business/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2015 15:39:03 +0000http://brandempire.com/?p=624The best things in life are free, especially if you're a small business or start-up. Here's 10 of the best new business tools available to use for free.

Whether you’re a start-up or small business looking to keep costs down, free online tools and services are always useful. Here’s the 10 best new free tools for start-ups and small business I’ve recently come across.

1. SocialRank

I really like this service. SocialRank is an easy way to identify, organize, and manage your followers on Twitter. When you’re running successful Twitter profiles it’s difficult to identify the ‘Most Valuable’ or the ‘Best’ followers. SocialRank’s provides analysis of both: helpful for individuals and brands looking to activate a potentially un-engaged, but very ‘valuable’ followers and the customers that strike a great balance between engaging with you and having the reach or importance. Nice app to reward your best customers with.

2. Peek

Have an unbiased everyday user take a look at your website and give feedback

Peek is a great tool for anyone interested in user-centered design. Add your URL and an hour later a video is available where an everyday user talks through their experiences using your website. Just be prepared for a bruised ego!

3. Slack

Gets all your internal communication channels into one searchable place

Slack’s mission is to get all communication into one place – instantly searchable, available wherever you go. You create internal channels and tag communication so that it’s shared with the right people at the right team. Slack lets you send messages, files and comments, inline images and video, rich link summaries and integration with the services you use every day, like Twitter, Dropbox and Google Drive. And it’s free.

4. Mobile App Development Cost Calculator

Protip: It’s going to be expensive. This just helps your CFO come to terms with it.

Building for mobile is expensive. This handy tool takes you through a Q&A about your mobile product and estimates the cost of building it. Very useful for guidelines spending for native apps.

5. Pitcherific

Train and develop your elevator pitching with this simple and free tool

I find public speaking a bit like skydiving: nerve-racking but highly rewarding. Learning to pitch properly is all about practice, refinement and practice. Be that in the boardroom or in conference venue. Pitcherific is a great tool to help you craft your pitch, practice your delivery and record your improvement.

6. Hive

Unlimited free cloud storage with a social element mixed in

Between Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Box, and OneDrive the cloud business seems pretty crowded. Hive is a new entrant into the market combining an unlimited free cloud service with a layer of social. Last year they raised $500,000 in seed funding from Bigcolors, a German IT infrastructure company Link11 GmbH, and some angel investors. Worth taking a look purely for the ease of sharing large files.

7. Ad Spend Calculator

Analyses your LTV + CAC to tell you how much you can spend on ads

The guys at Qwilr have created this handy free tool to calculate how much your business can afford to should be spending on advertising. The tool takes you through a quick Q&A to calculate your Life Time Customer Value your Customer Acquisition Cost and Costs per method (PPI, PPC and Signup), and then suggests a spending guideline for each method. Probably works best building a SaaS model, but works for other industries too.

8. Product Management by Intercom (Free E-Book)

Des Traynor and John Collins share their lessons in building great web products

Four chapters: ‘Evaluating your product’, ‘The thing about new features’, ‘Which new features to build’ and ‘Getting the feature used’. This book helps you make better decisions on which features to improve on, which features to not and how to build a better product.

9. Pablo

Online image design tool created for social media posts

Pablo is one of the better text over image web tools. When you’re too rushed to open up Photoshop, pop onto Pablo to add text and crop images to the right dimensions for your social media posts.

10. Mention

A Real-time media monitoring application that kicks ass

Mention does what any real-time monitoring tool should and it’s free to use on a basic plan. It monitors millions of sources (including multilingual sources) and connects directly to your social media accounts to post from one central place. What’s really good features are it’s sentiment analysis tools and priority inbox. Definitely something worthwhile to cut down noise from homonyms and spam.

Bonus 11th – Musicisum

Has nothing to do with business at all, but I love guitar and this tool kicks-ass

Rabea Massaad is a legendary guitarist and this new web tool is a creative and interesting way to learn the ‘real’ art of playing modern electric guitar. From advice on holding a pick, all the way to becoming a shredding master this is a fun way to learn. The first lessons are free and then reverts to a paid subscription model.

Take your pick: consumer behaviour, new business models, technology. I bet one of these are disrupting marketing in your industry right now. The task of the modern marketeer to keep up with change (with a view to find competitive advantage by being ahead of this evolutionary curve) seems a full-time occupation. More importantly, where do you schedule your marketing budgets to get the best returns in the upcoming financial year? It’s just gazing into a magic ball.

Over the past week I’ve read 20 ‘top ten 2015 marketing trend’ kind of articles, and have compiled an overview on what’s mentioned the most in the the world of marketing. Not surprisingly, there is clear consensus amongst marketing bloggers and commentators on the important trends emerging this year. He’s the leaderboard:

Content Marketing

85%

Personalisation

45%

Video Content (Unique)

35%

Real Time Marketing (Agile Marketing)

30%

Mobile and Responsive Design

25%

Visual Markering / Visual Storytelling Brand

20%

Paid Social Media

20%

Big Data / Data Driven Marketing

10%

Paid Search / Demographic Targeting

5%

Programmatic

5%

Miscellaneous

10%

“It’s an undeniably tired cliché but one that is, quite honestly, more valid than ever. Insightful content marketing has always been a point of emphasis and it will remain a strategic theme heading into 2015. “— Dean Ara

Five pretty obvious winners in this analysis, and more than likely should form parts of your mix this year until 2016:

Create a clear and structured program to create compelling content and publish it widely. Don’t fall for the keyword-rich link bait (very successful) strategy of the past. Rather think about your audience and create great narratives that tie back to your product or service on topics your customers care about.

Personalisation has been on the marketing trend radar for a number of years and will remain for a while. For personalisation to work it have to be pervasive throughout your services, products and systems – and therefore incredibly hard to achieve. In my experience treating each and every customer as an individual is a solid strategy.

Video Content arrives back on the top lists. Consumption of video is increasing with platforms focussing a richer content. Examples are everywhere: Facebook autoplay – video in Instagram – Vine. At the same time 4G and higher capacity bandwidth makes consumption of video content quicker. So start planning your budgets and 2015 schedule now. Great videos = big investment + time + planning.

Real-time marketing. Having a creative social team ready to jump into trending global conversations. Reading deeper into the area you’ll find that a clear brand and strategy is the most important first step in getting into agile marketing. Knowing how to respond and engage is more important than responding in and of itself.

And finally making sure that all your investment in these areas can be consumed on the devices your customer is using.

For anyone interested in further reading in this area I suggest the following five kick-ass articles:

]]>http://brandempire.com/marketing/trends-2015/feed/2Digitally Minded Marketinghttp://brandempire.com/news/digitally-minded-marketing/
http://brandempire.com/news/digitally-minded-marketing/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 18:06:28 +0000http://brandempire.com/?p=610You and I have a lot more in common than you think: neither of us know what I’m going to write about. I’m Duncan, a marketing and sales director working in Europe building two really epic youth hospitality and lifestyle brands. I come from a web background. I built websites before I found my way […]

]]>You and I have a lot more in common than you think: neither of us know what I’m going to write about.

I’m Duncan, a marketing and sales director working in Europe building two really epic youth hospitality and lifestyle brands. I come from a web background. I built websites before I found my way into marketing, and I bring this ‘digitally minded’ experience into everything I do in business.

What can I expect from your articles? Mostly concepts and lessons I’ve learnt in e-commerce, digital, marketing and leadership. I love data driven marketing. So expect some visualisations around unusual subjects like cocktail and food menus. My writing is my own, and doesn’t represent the views of the companies I work for (my views are far too conservative).

Powerful. If you want to get in touch connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter. Thanks for reading.